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VALUABLE RECEIPTS, 



OR THE 



MYSTERY OF WEALTH 



CONTAINING THE 



LADY'S COOK-BOOK, 



TOGETHER WITH 



SEVERAL HUNDRED VERY RARE 

RECEIPTS AND PATENTS, 

TO BE FOUND IN NO OTHER WORK. 



BY J. H. PRESCOTT, M. D. 



BOSTON: 

PRINTED AT THE OFFICE OF MEAD AND BEAL, 

No. 4, State Street. 
1845. 



x-'' 



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\ 



To the Public, 

The utility of a work like the present, cannot bs questioned. A want has long" 
been felt in the Domestic arts, particularly by newly-married people, for some 
means of practical knowledge on all those important details, which are daily oc- 
curring in the experience of families and individuals, but which very few well 
understand. 

A number of the receipts ye original, and the editor has practically teste's, in 
his own household, the. superior excellence of the others. 

The book is intended as an Every-day Family Hand-book', it has been carefully 
and critically prepared, and contains a volume of useful information, not surpassed 
by more voluminous and costly works, and is still afforded at the present economi- 
cal prices of the day. J- H. P. 
March, 1845. 



CONTENTS, 



COOKING DEPARTMENT. 

Page 

COOKINa UTENSILS - - - - 3 

MEATS -...,--- 4 

VEGETABLES AND FHUITS - - 11 

BREAD AND YEAST - - - - 13 

PASTRY AND PUDDIfJGS - - - 16 

CAKES - - 21 

TEA, COFFEE, ETC. - - - - 24 

PICKLES AND CATCHUPS - - 25 

PRESERVES 26 

COOKING- FOR THE SICK, ETC. - 30 



MISCELLANEOUS DEFARTMENT. 



HAIR, HAIR DYES, ETC. 
TO REMOVE INK AND GREASE 
SPOTS, ETC. - - 



DYEING 

INKS 

TO MAKE EXTRACTS 
DOMESTIC WINES, ETC. 
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS 



33 

34 
35 
36 
37 
38 

IC 

41 



^^k [Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1845, by J. H. Prescott, M. D. 



THE 

LADY'S COOK-BOOK. 

COOKING UTENSILS. 

Metallic utensils are quite unfit for many uses, and the 5 
knowledge of this is necessary to the preservation of health 1 
in general, and sometimes to the prevention of immediate? 
dangerous cons.equences. 

The metals commonly used in the construction of cook- - 
ing utensils, are silver, copper, brass, tin, iron, and lead. . 
Silver is preferable to all others, because it cannot be dis- * 
solved by any of the substances used as food. 

Copper and brass are both liable to be dissolved by vin- - 
egar, acid fruits, and pearlash. Such solutions are highly * 
poisonous, and great caution should be used to prevent ac- 
cidents of the kind. Vessels made of these metals are gen- - 
orally tinned, that is, lined with a thin coating of a mixed ! 
metal, containing both tin and lead. Neither acids, nor any r 
thing containing pearlash, should be suffered to remain in : 
vessels of this kind, more than an hour, as the tinning is dis- - 
solvable by acids, and the coating is seldom perfect over the ^ 
surface of the copper or brass. 

The utensils made of what is called block tin, are con- 
structed of iron plates coated with tin. This is^as liable to > 
be dissolved as the tinning of copper or brass vessels, but 
iron is not an unwholesome substance, if even a portion of it; 
should be dissolved and mixed in the food. Iron is there-- 
fore one of the safest metals for the construction of culinary • 
utensils. Some articles of food, such as quinces, orange, 
peel, artichokes, &.c., are blackened by remaining in iron i 
vessels, which therefore must not be used for them. 

'Leaden vessels are very unwholesome, and should never • 
be used for milk and cream if it be ever likely to stand till 
it becomes sour. They are unsafe also for the purpose of ^ 
keeping salted meats. 



The best kind of pottery ware is oriental china, because 
the glazing is a perfect glass, which cannot be dissolved, 
and the whole substance is so compact that liquid cannot 
penetrate it. Many kinds of pottery M^ares are badly glaz- 
ed, and as the glazing is made principally of lead, it is nec- 
essary to avoid putting vinegar and other acids into them. 
Acids and greasy substances penetrate into unglazed wares, 
excepting strong stone ware ; or into those of which the 
glazing is cracked, and hence give a bad flavor to any thing 
i.they are used for afterwards. They are quite unfit there- 
jfore for keeping pickles or salted meats. Glass vessels are 
ilnfinitely preferable to any pottery ware but oriental china, 
rand should be used whenever the occasion admits of it. 

Wooden vessels are very proper for keeping many arti- 
«cles of food, and should always be preferred to those lined 
^with lead. If any substance has fermented or become pu- 
Ttrid in a wooden cask or tub, it is sure to taint the vessel so 
:as to produce a similar efl^ect upon any thing that may be 
put into it in future. It is useful to char the insides of these 
"^wooden vessels before they are used, by burning wooden 
Kshavings, so as to coat the insides with a crust of charcoal. 
As whatever contaminates food in any way, must be sure, 
ifrom the repetition of its baneful effects, to injure the health, 
la, due precaution with respect to all culinary vessels is nec- 
^essary for its more certain preservation. There is a kind of 
[hollow iron ware lined with enamel, which is superior to ev- 
^ery other utensil for sauces or preserves ; indeed it is pre- 
iferable for every purpose. 



MEATS. 

Half-grown poultry is not so good as the full-grown, 
^when it is still young. When poultry is eaten on the same 
*day it is killed, it is stringy and often tough. In warm 
•weather all kinds of meat that is to be kept any length of 
rtime should be sprinkled over with pepper, to preserve it 
I from the flies. 

TO ROAST A TURKEY. 

A good sized turkey should be roasted two hours and a 
'half, or three hours — very slowly at first. If you wish to 
make plain stuffing, pound some crackers, or crumble 




some bread very fine, chop some raw salt pork very fine, 
sift some sage, with summer-savory or sweet marjoram, 
and mould them altogether, season with a little pepper. 
An egg worked in makes the stuffing cut better. 

To BOIL a turkey, it should be prepared in the same way 
as for roasting. If you wish to have it look white, tie it 
up in a cloth, unless rice is boiled in the pot. If rice is 
used, put in two thirds of a tea-cup. The most approved 
fashion is to send boiled turkey to the table with oysters 
in their sauce, in a small tureen. 

TO ROAST A GOOSE. 

Chop two onions with a few sweet herbs, very fine, mix 
with a lump of butter, a tea-spoonful of pepper, and two 
of salt ; put it in the goose. Then spit, lay it down, and 
dust it with flour ; when it is thoroughly hot baste it with 
nice lard or butter. If it be a large one it will require an 
hour and a half before a good fire. When it is done 
enough, dredge and baste it. It may be stuffed with bread 
or potatoes. Serve with cranberry or apple-sauce. 

ROAST CHICKEN. 

An hour is enough for common sized chickens to roast. 
A smart fire is better than a slow one ; but they must be 
tended closely. Slices of bread, buttered, salted, and 
peppered, put into the stomach (not the crop) are excellent. 

CURRIED CHICKEN. 

Take the skin off, cut up a chicken, and roll each piece 
in curry powder and flour, (mix together a spoonful of flour 
to half an ounce of curry) fry two or three sliced onions in 
butter ; when of a light brown, put in the meat and fry 
them together till the meat becomes brown ; then stew 
them together with a little water for two or three hours. 
More water may be added if too thick. 

FRICKASEED CHICKEN. 

Cut the chickens into pieces and cover them with warm 
water to draw out the blood. Then put them into a stew- 
pan, with three quarters of a pint of water, salt, pepper, 
flour, butter, mace, sweet herbs pounded and sifted ; let 
it boil half an hour. If it is too fat, skim it a little. Just 
before it is done, mix the yolk of two eggs with a gill of 



cream, stir it up till it is thick and smooth. If you like 
onions, stew some slices with the other ingredients. 

CHICKEN SALAD. 

Boil a chicken that weighs ahout a pound and a half. 
As soon as it is done tender, cut it up in small strips, and 
make the following sauce, and turn over it — boil four eggs 
three minutes ; take them out of the shells, mash and mix 
with them a couple of table-spoonfuls of olive oil, or melted 
butter, two thirds ofi^a tumbler of vinegar, a tea-spoonful 
of mustard, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a little pepper. In 
making chicken salad, the dressing should not be put on 
until just before the salad is sent in. 

DUCKS. 

Ducks may be roasted as soon as killed. Keep a clear 
fire. Let them be done of a light brown, but if wild they 
should not be much roasted, as the flavor will be spoiled. 
They take about an hour to roast ; baste them well. Par- 
boil the livers and gizzards, chop them fine, and put them 
i the gravy. 

Canvas back ducks are roasted in half an hour : cur- 
rant jelly is the best accompaniment. 

PIGEONS. 

Pigeons are either roasted, broiled, potted, or stewed. 

Potting is the best way, and the least trouble. After 
they are picked and cleaned, put a small slice of salt pork 
and a little ball of stuffing into the body of each bird. The 
stuffing may be made of one egg to one cracker, and an 
equal quantity of suet or butter, seasoned with sweet mar- 
joram or sage. Baste them well, lay them close together 
in the bottom of the pot, merely cover them with water, 
put in a bit of butter, and let them stew an hour and a 
quarter, if young ; an hour and three quarters, if old. 

Steioed pigeons are cooked nearly as above, omitting 
the stuffing. Being dry meat, they require a good deal of 
butter. 

To Roast pigeons, put fhcm on a small spit, and tie both 
ends close. Baste with butter. They will be done in 
fifteen or twenty minutes. 

To make a Pigeon Pie, put inside of every bird a piece 
of butter and the yolk of an egg boiled hard. 



ROAST BEEF. 

When the meat is put to the fire, a little salt should be 
sprinkled on it, and the bony side turned towards the fire 
first. After the bones get well heated through, turn the 
meat, and keep a brisk fire ; baste it frequently while roast- 
ing. Put a little water into the dripping-pan when the 
meat is put down to roast. If it is a thick piece, allow 
fifteen minutes to each pound to roast it in — if thin, less 
time will be required. 

BEEF STEAK, BROILED. 

Beat them well with a rolling-pin. Have the gridiron 
over a clear quick fire, and rub the bars with suet ; lay 
on the steaks, and keep turning them constantly, till they 
are done enough. The gridiron should be set in a slanting 
direction on the coals, to prevent the fat from dropping 
into the fire and making a smoke. Throw a little salt over 
them just before taking them off the fire. Serve them 
as hot as possible ; rub a bit of butter upon the steaks the 
moment of serving. The tender-loin is the best piece for 
broiling. 

ALAMODE BEEF. 

Tie up a round of beef so as to keep it in shape ; make 
a stuffing of grated bread, suet, sweet herbs, quarter of an 
ounce of nutmeg, a few pounded cloves, and the yolk of 
an egg. Cut holes in the beef, and put in the stuffing, 
leaving about half the stuffing to be made into balls. Tie 
the beef up in a cloth, just cover it with water, let it boil 
an hour and a half; turn it, and let it boil an hour and a 
half more ; then pour out the liquor, and put some skew- 
ers across the bottom of the pot, and lay the beef upon it 
to brown ; turn it that it may brown on both sides. Put 
some allspice and cloves into the liquor, and boil some 
balls made of the stuffing in it. 

ROAST LEG OF PORK. 

Wash it, and dry with a cloth. Score the skin in dia- 
monds, and rub a little fine sage into the apertures. Make 
a stuffing of grated bread, two small onions chopped fine, 
a little sage, the yolk of an egg, and season with pepper 
and salt. Put the stuffiing under the rind of the knuckle, 
and in deep incisions made in the thick part of the leg. 



8 

If the surface of the skin is lightly rubbed over with butter, 
it will be crisper and look better. Roast moderately. A 
leg weighing eight pounds will require three and a half 
hours to roast. When done, skim the fat from the gravy, 
and thicken it with flour and butter. 

, ROAST SPxlRE-RIB. 

Before roasting, rub it with powdered sage, salt, and 
pepper. Put the thick end to the fire. Dust with flour 
and baste with butter when put down. If large and thick, 
it will take two hours to roast It ; if thin, about an hour. 
A shoulder, loin, or chime, are roasted in the same way. 

BOILED LEG MUTTON. 

Cut off* the shank bone, and trim the knuckle. A nine- 
pound leg will require three hours cooking. Mutton 
should be boiled the same as other meats ; that is, sim- 
mered very slowly, and the scum carefully removed. Be- 
fore cooking, wash it and put it in cold water. Allow 
water only sufficient to cover it ; the liquor makes good 
broth, with a little rice and a few carrots, &c. Gaper- 
sauce, made of melted butter, a little flour and water, and 
capers, is the best sauce/ 

SOUSE. 

Take pigs' ears and feet, clean them thoroughly, then 
soak them in salt and water, for several days. Boil them 
tender and split them, they are then good fried, after being 
first dipped in a plain batter made of Indian meal or wheat 
flour. If you wish to souse them when cold, turn boiling 
vinegar on them, spiced with mace. Cloves will improve 
the taste, but it turns them a dark color. Add a little salt. 
They will keep good pickled fiwe or six weeks. Fry in 
lard. 

BOILED HAM. 

Soak it according to its age, in warm water, for twelve 
or twenty-four hours. Put it into the pot, full of cold 
water, and if a small one, let it simmer for two or three 
hours, and then boil an hour and a half Let it stand in 
the liquor until perfectly cold. Then take off* the skin. 
It is better and goes farther not to be cut till it is quite 
cold. Boiled ham is delicate to broil. 



BACON AND CABBAGE. 

Cut a hole in the head of the cabbage, and thrust into it 
a quarter or half a pound of fat bacon, as a plug. Tie 
over the head of the cabbage so as to confine the leaves, 
and boil it in a napkin. The above is the best method, 
but the articles maj be put into the pot separately. 

BEEF OR MUTTON SOUP. 

Boil very gently in a closely-covered pot, four quarts of 
water, with two table-spoonfuls of sifted bread raspings, 
three pounds of beef cut in small pieces, or the same 
quantity of mutton chops ; season with pepper and salt, 
and two turnips, two carrots, two onions, and one head of 
celery, all cut small ; let it stew with these ingredients 
four hours, when it will be ready to serve. 

A little less than a quart of water is sufficient for a 
pound of meat. Soups made of fresh meats are best, but 
tolerably palatable soup may be made of the remnants of 
cold meat, especially if it contains many bones. The fat 
should always be skimmed from soup. The seasoning 
should be of salt, with a little pepper if it is liked ; soup is 
more wholesome without the latter ingredient. To extract 
the strength from meat, long* and slow boiling is necessary, 
and care should be taken that the pot is never off the boil. 

NEW ENGLAND CHOWDER. 

Take a good fresh haddock or cod, cut it in pieces 
three inches square, put a pound of fat salt pork in strips 
into the pot, set it on hot coals, and fry out the oil. Take 
out the pork, and put in a layer of fish, over that a layer 
onions in slices, then a layer of fish, with slips of fat salt 
pork, then another layer of onions, and so on alternately, 
until your fish is consumed. Mix some flour with as much 
water as will fill the pot, (or use milk instead of flour and 
water, which is better ;) season with black pepper, and 
salt to your taste ; boil it forty minutes. Have ready 
same hard crackers, which split and put in about five 
minutes before you take it up. 

STEWED OYSTERS. 

Strain ofl?*the liquor, put to it some milk or water, grate 
in dry bread, add a little pepper and a lump of butter. 



10 

Put these into the stew-pan and boil ; then add the oysters. 
Let them stew but a few minutes, or they will be hard. 
Have ready some slices of buttered toast with the crust 
off. When the oysters are done dip the toast in the li- 
quor, and lay the pieces round the sides and in the bottom 
of a deep dish. Pour the oysters and liquor upon the 
toast, and send them to the table hot. 

OYSTER PIE. 

Take fifty oysters, put them in a kettle, and let them 
simmer just enough to plump them, then turn into a dish 
and season with six cloves, and pepper to your taste. 
Then lay crust round the edge of your dish, take the yolk 
of four eggs boiled hard, with a handful of grated bread, 
sprinkle this over the top with a few pieces of butter, fill 
the dish nearly full ; cover the pie over with a puff paste. 

OYSTER POWDER. 

Take oysters and wheat flour, equal parts ; salt to taste. 
Reduce them to a paste, roll into slices, dry and powder, 
then keep it in closely-corked bottles. One ounce will 
make a pint of oyster sauce. 

DRIED BEEF. 

Make a brine of eight ounces of salt and two ounces of 
saltpetre ; apply this to ten pounds of beef. It should lay 
in the brine four weeks, and then be hung up in the kitchen 
to dry. In summer, to preserve it from insects, it should 
be sprinkled with pepper, and tied up in a cloth. 

TO MAKE SAUSAGES. 

Ten pounds of chopped meat, three ounces of fine salt, 
one ounce pepper; two thirds cup of sage, and half a cup 
of sweet marjoram or summer savory, passed through a 
fine sieve. 

TO BOli. EGGS. 

Try the freshness of eggs by putting them into a pan of 
cold water. Those that sink the soonest are the freshest. 

Never attempt to boil an egg without a watch beside 
you. Let the water boil before the eggs are put in. In 
three minutes an egg will boil soft ; in four, the white part 
is completely cooked ; in ten, it is hard enough for a salad. 



11 

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS. 

i 
TO MAKE VEGETABLES EAT TENDER, 

Put a spoonful or two of pearlash or soda into the wa- 
ter you boil them in. 

POTATOES. 

To boil potatoes, peel round a narrow strip in a ring, be- 
fore putting them into the pot, to give them a chance to burst 
and become mealy. Do not let them stop boiling for an in- 
stant ; and when they are done, turn the water ofFcomplete- 
ly, and throw in a little salt, which will absorb the moisture 
remaining. Most potatoes will boil in the course of half an 
hour — new ones take less time. Sweet potatoes are better 
baked than boiled. 

GREEN PEAS. 

Put them into boiling water, add a little salt, and a tea- 
spoonful of sugar. If tender it takes from half to three 
quarters of an hour to boil them. Don't let them stand in 
the water after they are done. Season with butter and salt. 

GREEN- BEANS. 

String beans take nearly an hour and a half to boil. Put 
then^on in boiling water. 

Beets should never be cut ; put them in boiling water. 

Carrots may be cut if too large ; put in boiling water 
with a little salt. Parsnips same. 

Greens of all kinds, spinach, beet-tops, &c., shpuld he 
put in when the water boils. 

sweet CORN. 

Corn is much sweeter to be boiled on the cob. If made 
into sucatash, cut it from the cobs, and boil it with Lima 
or Sibby beans, and a few slices ot salt pork. It requires 
boiling from fifteen to thirty minutes, according to its age. 

ONIONS. 

It is a good plan to boil onions in milk and water ; it 
diminishes the strong taste of that vegetable. It is an ex- 
cellent way of serving up onions, to chop them after they 
,are boiled, and put them in a stewpan, with a little milk, 
butter, salt, and pepper, and let them stew about fifteen 
minutes. This gives them a fine flavor. 



12 

TOMATOES. 

Peel and put them into a stew-pan, with a table-spoonful 
of water, if not very juicy ; if so, no water will be required. 
Eut in a little salt, and stew them for half an hour ; then 
turn them into a deep dish with buttered toast. Another 
way of cooking them, which is considered very nice by 
epicures, is to put them in a deep dish, with fine bread 
crumbs, crackers pounded fine, a layer of each alternately ; 
put small bits of butter, a little salt and pepper on each lay- 
er — some cooks add a little nutmeg and sugar. Have a lay- 
er of bread crumbs on the top. Bake it three quarters of 
an hour. 

VEGETABLE OYSTERS. 

Boil salsify, or vegetable oysters till the skin will come 
off easily. When you have taken it off neatly, cut the roots 
in bits as long as an oyster ; put into a deep vegetable dish 
a layer of crumbs of bread or crackers, a little salt and pep- 
per and nutmeg, and a covering of butter as thin as you can 
cut it ; then a layer of oysters, till your dish is filled, hav- 
ing crumbs at the top. Fill the dish with water, and brown 
them. 

GREEN PEAS, CORN, &C. IN WINTER. 

Gather peas, corn, beans, &c., in their proper season, 
for summer use ; scald the corn on the cob, and shell or cut 
it off; shell the peas and beans, and dry them all on cloths 
in the shade. All the care necessary, is to prevent their 
moulding ; this done they will be fine and sweet. 

TO PRESERVE TOMATOES. 

Divide them into two, or if very thick through, three 
slices, and put them into the oven, after the bread hasbeen 
taken out. When they are sufficiently dried, put them in- 
to paper bags and hang up in a dry place. When wanted 
for use, dip them into cold water, and lay them on a dish to 
swell. They are almost equal to the fresh fruit* 

TO PRESERVE GREEN CURRANTS. 

Currants may be kept fresh for a year or more, if they 
are gathered when green, separated from the stems, put in- 
to dry, clean junk bottles, and corked very carefully, so as 
to exclude the air. They should be kept in a cool place in 
the cellar. 



13 
BREAD AND YEAST. 

In summer bread should be mixed with cold water. In 
damp weather the water should be tepid, and in cold weath^ 
quite warm. If the yeast is new, a small quantity will 
make the bread rise. In the country, yeast cakes are found 
very convenient, but they seldom make the bread as good 
as fresh lively yeast. 

YEAST. 

Boil for half an hour, two quarts of water, thickened with 
about three spoonfuls of wheat flour, and sweetened with 
two teacups of molasses. When nearly cold put it into a 
jug, adding four spoonfuls of fresh yeast. Shake it well 
and place it uncovered near the fire for one day to ferment. 
There will be a thin liquor on the top, pour this off, shake 
the remainder, and cork it up for use. A half-peck loaf will 
require about a gill. Yeast will not generally keep good 
over ten days. 

Potatoe Yeast. — Boil potatoes soft, peel and mash them, 
and add as much water as will make them of the consistence 
of common yeast, while the potatoes are warm put in half 
a tea-cupful of molasses, and two table-spoonfuls of yeast. 
Let it stand near the fire until done fermenting, when it 
will be fit for use. 

Hop Yeast. — In two quarts of water, boil a handful of 
hops ; strain, and pour the liquor hot upon half a tea-cupful 
of wheat flour. When about milk warm, add a tea-cupful 
of yeast. Let it ferment, when it will be ready for use 
and may be bottled. 

BREAD-MAKING IN FRANCE. 

The art of bread making is carried on in Paris to a degree 
of refinement which it has never reached in any other place. 
In flavor, color, and texture, the bread of the French ba^ 
kers is unrivalled. M. Dumas, the celebated chemist, thus 
describes the process. 

Put into the trough a piece of leaven, then put in the re- 
quisite quantity of water to make the bread. First thorough- 
ly dissolve this leaven in the water, mashing and stirring 
it well together ; then introduce sufficient flour to form a 
soft sponge ; then add slowly the rest of the flour, min- 



14 

gling it in by degrees from right to left, and left to right. 
It is now to be worked with the hands and fingers, in order 
to mix very exactly its component parts. It is then divided 
into good size lumps, each of which is to be kneaded sep- 
arately, by seizing hold of portions by the hand, and draw- 
ing it out. When the different lumps are thus treated, they 
are united in one mass, which is to be extended and folded 
repeatedly back upon itself. The whole is again to be lift- 
ed up several times and dashed against the kneading-trough. 
The object of these operations is to effect an intimate mix- 
ture of the flour, the water, and the leaven. No powdery 
spots should be left in any part of the dough. 

The work is now completed ; and after leaving the dough 
in the trough for a short time to rest, (not rise) it is turned 
upside down. Lumps of the desired size, are cut off, roll- 
ed out and dusted with a little flour ; the lumps are then 
turned over,placed in a proper temperature and left to swell. 
If the flour be of good quality, the dough well made, the tem- 
perature be suitable, the lumps will swell much and uniform- 
ly. If, after the surface has risen, it falls to a considerable 
extent, the flour must be bad, or it must contain foreign 
substances. 

Whenever the oven is sufficiently hot, and the dough 
well fermented, it is ready to be baked. 

BREAD. 

Mix into six pounds of sifted flour, one ounce of salt, 
nearly half a pint of fresh sweet yeast as it comes from the 
brewery, and a sufficient quajptity of warmed milk to make 
the whole into a stiff dough ; work and knead it well upon 
a pasteboard, on which a little flour has been strewed, for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, then put it into a deep pan, cov- 
er it with a warmed towel, set it before the fire, and let it 
rise for an hour and a half, or perhaps two hours ; then 
knead it well, and bake. 

BISCUIT OR ROLLS. 

Put two tea-spoonfuls of cream tartar finely pulverized, 
into one quart of dry flour, then dissolve three fourths of a 
tea-spoonful of sup. carb. of soda into warm new milk, suf- 
ficient when mingled with the flour, to make the paste of 
the ordinary consistence of soft biscuit ; then mix and bake 
in the form of rolls or biscuit, for about twenty minutes. 



15 

WISCONSIN SPONGE CAKE. 

Take two eggs, (or omit them if wished,) one tea-cup of 
buttermilk, one tea-spoon of saleratus, and salt to suit. 
Stir in flour to the consistency of pancake batter. Bake 
in tin rings or cake pans. 

Anoilier. Three eggs to one pint of milk; stir in flour 
to make a batter; salt, and bake as above. 

CHEAP AND HEALTHY BREAD. 

Take a pumpkin and boil it in water until it is quite thick, 
then add flour so as to make it dough. 

DYSPEPSIA BREAD. 

Take three quarts unbolted wheat meal, one quart soft 
warm water, (not hot,) one gill fresh yeast, one gill molas- 
ses, and one tea-spoonful saleratus. 

RYE AND INDIAN BREAD. 

Take four quarts of sifted Indian meal ; put it into a glaz- 
ed earthen pan, sprinkle over it a table-spoonful of fine salt, 
pour over it about two quarts of boiling water, stir and work 
it till every part of the meal is thoroughly wet ; when it is 
about milk-warm, work in^ii;o quarts of rye meal, half a pint 
of lively yeast, mixed with a pint of warm water ; add more 
warm water if needed. Work the mixture well Avith your 
hands ; it should be stifl*, but not as firm as flour dough. 
Have ready a large, deep, well buttered pan ; put in the 
dough. Set this to rise in a warm place in the winter ; in 
the summer it should not be put by the fire. When it be- 
gins to crack on the top, which will usually be in about an 
hour or an hour and a half, put it into a well-heated oven, 
and bake it three or four hours. It is better to let it stand 
in the oven all night, unless the weather is warm. Indian 
meal requires to be well cooked. The loaf will weigh be- 
tween seven and eight pounds. 

INDIAN LOAF BREAD. 

Stir Indian meal in skim milk to the consistency of pan- 
cake batter, about two quarts. Add two tea-spoonfuls of 
molasses, one of saleratus, two of shortening, and two tea- 
cupfuls of wheat flour. Stir in the evening, bake in the 
morning, and eat while hot. 



16 

GOOD BROWN BREAD. 

Take one quart of Indian meal, and three pints of rye 
meal ; put it into a pan, turn about half a cupful of molas- 
ses and two tea-spoonfuls of ginger into it. Take some 
saleratus, and dissolve it in warm water, enough to mix the 
meal rather soft ; let it remain in the pan to riseover night. 
When light enough put it in pans and bake it. Bread made 
so will not sour so quick as when yeast is put into it. 

EXCELLENT BREAD WITHOUT YEAST. 

Scald about two handfuls of Indian meal, into which put 
a little salt, and as much cold water as will make it rather 
warmer than new milk ; then stir in wheat flour, till it is as 
thick as a family pudding, and set it down by the fire to rise. 
In about half an hour it grows thin ; you may sprinkle a lit- 
tle fresh flour on the top, and mind to turn the pot round, 
that it may not bake to the side of it. In three or four hours, 
if you mind the above directions, it will rise and ferment as 
if you had set it with hop yeast ; when it does, make it up 
in soft dough, flour a pan, put in your bread, set it before 
the fire, covered up, turn it round to make it equally warm, 
and in about half an hour it will be light enough to bake. 
It suits best to bake it in a yankee baker, as it should be 
baked as soon as it is light. 



PASTRY AND PUDDINGS. 

For a good pie crust, allow half a pound of shortening 
to a pound of flour. Crust looks nicest made with lard, 
but it tastes better to have some butter used in making 
it. In winter beef shortening, mixed with butter, makes 
good plain pie crust. To each pound of flour put a tea- 
spoonful of salt. When the shortening is thoroughly mix- 
ed with the flour, add just sufficient cold w^ater to render it 
moist enough to roll out easily. Pastry to be nice, should 
be baked in a quick oven. In cold weather it is necessary 
to warm the shortening before using it for pie crust, but it 
must not be melted, or the crust will not be flaky. 

PUFF PASTE, OR CONFECTIONERS' PASTRY. 

Weigh out a pound and a quarter of sifted flour, and a 
pound of butter. Rub about one-third of the butter with 



17 

two thirds of the flour, a tea-spoonful of salt. When the 
butter is thoroughly mixed with the flour, add one beaten 
egg, and cold water to moisten it sufiiciently to roll out. 
Sprinkle part of the reserved flour on a board, cut the but- 
ter into small pieces, and roll them out as thin as possible. 
In order to do so, it will be necessary to rub a great deal 
of the flour on the moulding board and rolling-pin. Lay the 
butter, as fast as rolled out, on to a floured plate, each piece 
by itself — roll out the pastry as thin as it can be rolled, cov- 
er it with the rolled butter, sprinkle on part of the reserved 
flour, and roll the crust up. Continue to roll out the crust, 
and put on the reserved butter and flour, till the whole is 
used. Roll it out lightly, about half an inch thick, for the 
upper crust, or rim to your pies — plain pie crust should be 
used for the under crust to the pies. Puff pastry, to be nice, 
should be baked in a quick oven till of a light brown color. 
If it browns before the fruit in the pie is sufficiently baked, 
cover it with thick paper. 

RHUBARB PIES. 

Take the tender stalks of the rhubarb, strip off the skin, 
and cut the stalks into thin slices. Line deep plates with 
pie crust, then put in ihe rhubarb, with a thick layer of su- 
gar to each layer of rhubarb — a little grated lemon peel im- 
proves the pie. Cover the pies with a crust — press it down 
tight round the edge of the plate, and prick the crust with 
a fork, so that it will not burst while baking, and let out 
the juices of the pie. Rhubarb pies should be baked 
about and hour, in a slow oven — it will not do to bake them 
quick. Some cooks stew the rhubarb before making it in- 
to pies, but it is not so good as when used without stewing. 

HINGE PIES. 

Two pounds of meat, one half a pound of suet, half a peck 
of apples, two pounds of raisins or currants, two nutmegs, 
four spoonfuls ground cinnamon, two dozen cloves, the juice 
of two lemons with the rinds grated in, a little ground al- 
spice, sugar to taste, moisten with cider. 

A PLAIN CUSTARD PIE. 

Boil a quart of milk with the rind of a lemon. When it 
has flavored the milk, strain it, and set it where it will boil. 
Mix a table-spoonful of flour, smoothly, with a couple of 
A2 



18 

table-spoonfuls of milk, and stir it into the boiling milk. Let 
it boil a minute, stirring it constantly — take it from the fire, 
and when cool, put in three beaten eggs — sweeten it to the 
taste, turn it into deep pie plates, and bake the pies direct- 
ly in a quick oven. 

CUSTARDS IN CUPS. 

Boil a pint of rich milk with a little cinnamon ; when cold, 
take four eggs , spice and sugar to your taste — mix them well 
together* and bake in cups. 

PUMPKIN PIES. 

An excellent pumpkin pie is made by graimg the raw 
pumpkin at once into the pie plate, instead of first stewing 
it, as is commonly done. 

VEGETABLE OYSTER PUDDING. 

Take one pint of sweet cream, three eggs, about three 
large spoonfuls of sugar, a tea-spoonful of salt, a spoonful of 
bread crumbs, a teacup of grated salsify or vegetable oys- 
ters, and a quarter of a nutmeg. Make some pie crust, line 
a dish, and bake it about a half an hour. 

BLANCMANGE. 

To one ounce of isinglass, put a pint of water, boil it 
till the isinglass is melted, with a bit of cinnamon ; put to 
it three quarters of a pint of cream, and a bit of lemon-peel, 
sweeten it, stir it over the fire, let it boil, strain and let it 
cool, squeeze in the juice of a lemon, and put into moulds. 

RENNET OR WINE CUSTARD. 

Very simple, and prepared in a ^q\y minutes. Cut a bit 
of rennet about four inches square into strips, which put 
into » bottle filled with wine. It will be fit for use in about 
two or three weeks. To make your custard, first warm and 
sweeten your milk, then stir into it a tea-spoonful or table- 
spoonful of the rennet wine, according to its strength, and 
pour immediately into a pudding dish, or cups, as you wish ; 
put away into a cool place for an hour, and grate nutmeg 
on them. The whey is a very nourishing drink for invalids. 

SAGO PUDDING. 

Pick, wash, and dry, half a pound of currants ; and put 



19 

in such spices as best suit the taste of those who are to eat 
it. Have ready six table spoonfuls of sago, picked clean, 
and soaked for two hours in cold water. Boil the sago in a 
quart of milk till quite soft. Then stir alternately into the 
milk, a quarter of a pound of butter, and six ounces of pow- 
dered sugar, and set it away to cool. Beat eight eggs and, 
when they are quite light, stir them gradually into the milk, 
sago, &c. Add the spice, and lastly the currants ; having 
dredged them well with flour to prevent their sinking . Stir 
the whole very hard, put it into a buttered dish, and bake 
it three quarters of an hour. It may be eaten cold. 

TAPIOCA PUDDING. 

To a quart of warm milk put eight table-spoonfuls of melt- 
ed butter, four beaten eggs, and cinnamon or mace to the 
taste. Mix four table-spoonfuls of white powdered sugar 
and a wine-glass of wine, and stir it into the rest of the in- 
gredients. 

INDIAN PUDDING. 

Sift a pint of Indian meal and scald it with boiling water. 
Place over the fire a quart of milk, cut up a quarter of a 
pound of butter and melt it in the hot milk — add a pint of 
sugar-house molasses, and mix them together until the milk 
boils. Stir it into the meal, mixing it well with a wooden 
spoon. Beat seven eggs, until they are perfectly light, pour 
them into the bowl that holds the meal, with ten drops of the 
essence of lemon, or a little lemon juice. 

Stir the mixture until it seems quite light, and bake it in 
a moderately hot oven. 

BATTER PUDDING. 

Beat up from four to six eggs with a quart of milk, add a 
little salt, and flour enough to make it pour with ease. 
The bag should not be more than two thirds full, as flour 
puddings swell very much. It should be put into boiling 
water, and kept boiling constantly. If the water boils 
away, so as to leave any part of the bag uncovered, more 
boiling water should be added. When the pudding has 
boiled eight or nine minutes, the bag should be turned 
over, otherwise the pudding will be heavy. Flour puddings 
should be eaten as soon as cooked, as they fall directly. 
Serve them up with rich sauce. 



20 

A PLAIN RICE PUDDING. 

To make a plain rice pudding, boil a pint of rice until it 
is quite soft. Mix two ounces of butter and four table- 
spoonfuls of sugar, and a quart of milk with the rice, boil 
them u^> together and let them partially cool. Beat five 
eggs until they are quite light, and stir them into the rice. 
It should bake about an hour. 

BIRDS-NEST PUDDING. 

First, prepare your custard ; then take eight or ten pleas- 
ant apples, pare them, dig out the core, but leave them 
whole, set them in a pudding dish, pour your custard over 
them, and bake them about half an hour. 

RICE APPLE DUMPLINGS. 

Boil the rice ten minutes ; let it drain thoroughly . Pai^e 
and quarter as many apples as you want dumplings ; take 
as many small cloths, and put a portion of the rice, enclos- 
ing an apple, into each; tie rather loosely, and boil them three 
quarters of an hour. 

ARROW-ROOT PUDDING. 

Dissolve four tea-cupfuls of arrow-root in a quart of fresh 
milk. Boil it with some peach leaves or lemon peel to give 
it a flavor. Stir it well while it is boilino- or until it be- 
comes a smooth batter. When it is quite cool, add six eggs 
well beaten, to the batter, then mix with it a quarter of a 
pound of powdered white sugar — if brown is used it spoils 
the color. The pudding shoud be baked an hour, and sent 
to the table cold. Ornament the top with slices of preserves. 

BOILING RICE. 

Pick over the rice carefully, rinse it well in cold water 
till it is faitlifully cleansed ; drain off the water, then put 
it in a pot of boiling water, with a little salt. Allow as much 
as a quart of water to a teacup of rice, as it absorbs the wa- 
ter very much while boiling. Boil it seventeen minutes ; 
then turn the water off very close ; set the pot over a few 
coals, and let it steam fifteen minutes with the lid of the pot 
off. The beauty of the rice boiled in this way, is, that each 
kernel stands out by itself, while it is quite tender. 



21 



CAKES. ^m0. ^^ 

In making cake, accuracy ifT^proportioning the ingre- 
dients is indispensable. It is equally indispensable for the 
success of the cake, that it should be placed ^in a heated 
oven as soon as prepared. It is useless to attem^ to make 
light cake unless the eggs are perfectly fresh, and the 
butter good. Neither eggs nor butter should be beaten in 
tin, as its coldness prevents their becoming light. 

WEDDING CAK^ 

Flour, three pounds ; butter, three pounds ; sugar, 
three pounds ; currants, five pounds ; citron, one pound ; 
eggs, two dozen ; brandy, one pint ; cinnamon, nutmegs, 
and mace, each one ounce ; cloves, half an ounce. But- 
ter sheets of paper, and line the inside of the pan. Put 
in the citron last, laying in the bottom of the pan some 
slices of citron, then a layer of the mixture, then a layer 
of citron, and so on till the pan is full. Bake thoroughly. 
Frost soon after it comes from the oven. (See receipt for 
frosting, page 23.) 

POUNDED CAKE.* 

Mi.x: a pound of sugar with three quarters of a pound of 
butter. When well stirred, mix in the yolk of eight eggs, 
beaten to a froth, then the whites. Add a pound of sifted 
flour, and mace and nutmeg to the taste. If you wish to 
have your cake particularly nice, stir in, just before you 
put it into the pans, a quarter of a pound of citron, or al- 
monds blanched, and powdered fine in rose-water. 

QUEEN CAKE. 

Beat one pound of butter to a cream, with some rose- 
vv^ater, one pound of flour, one pound of sifted sugar 
— beat all well together — add a few currants washed and 
dried — butter small pans of a size for the purpose, grate 
sugar over them — they may be done in a yankee baker. 

SUPERIOR SPONGE CAKE. 

Take the weight of ten eggs in powdered white sugar, 
beat it to a froth with the yolks of twelve eggs, put in the 
grated rind of a fr^ghlemon, leaving out the white part — 



\ 



22 

add half the juice. Beat the whites of twelve eggs to a 
stiff froth, and^ijix them with the sugar and butter. Stir 
the whole w ij^ou^a-Hv^^ ^ s s at i o n for fifteen minutes, then 
stir in graduMjy the weigluW^ix eggs in sifted flour. As 
soon as the flour is well mixed in, tarn the cake into pans 
lined with buttered paper — bake it immediately in a quick, 
but not fuftously hot oven. It will bake m the course of 
twenty minutes. If it bakes too fast, cover it with thick 
paper. 

LOAF CAKE. 

Take two pounds ,of flour, half a pound of sugar, a 
quarter of pound of%utter, three eggs, one gill of milk, 
one half tea-cupful of sweet yeast, cloves and nutmegs for 
spice. 

GINGERBREAD. 

Rub one pound of butter well into three pounds of flour ; 
then add one pound of powdered sugar, one pound of mo- 
lasses, and two ounces of ginger, pounded and sifted very 
fine ; then ^varm a qu^irter of a pint of cream, and mix all 
together ; you may add caraways and sweetmeats if you 
choose ; make it into a stiff paste, and bake it in a slow 
oven. 

SPONGE GrNGERBREAD. 

Melt a piece of ^butter of the size of a hen's egg ; mix 
it with a pint of molasses, a table-spoonful of ginger, and 
quart of flour. Dissolve a heaping table-spoonful of saler- 
atus in half a pint of milk, and strain and mix it with the 
rest of the ingredients, add sufficient flour to enable you 
to roll it out easily, roll it out about half an inch thick, and 
bake it on flat tins in*a quick oven. 

BUCKWHEAT CAKES. 

Mix a quart of buckwheat flour with a pint of lukewarm 
milkj (water will do, but is not as good,) and a tea-cup of 
yeast. Set it in a warm place to rise. When light, (which 
will be in the course of eight or ten hours, if family yeast 
is used, if brewers' yeast, they v/ill rise much sooner,) add 
a tea-spoonful of salt ; if sour, the same quantity of saler- 
atus dissolved in a little milk, and strained. If they are 
too thick, thin them with cold milk or water. Fry them in 
just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the frying-pan. 



23 



APPLE FRITTERS. 

Take four or five tart, mellow apples, pare and cut them 
in slices, and soak them in sweetened lemon juice. Make 
a batter of a quart of milk, a quart of flour, eight eggs ; 
grate in the rind of two lemons, add the juice an^ apples. 
Drop the batter by the spoonful into hot lard, taking care 
to have a slice of apple in each fritter. 

INDIAN FLATJACKS. 

Scald a quart of Indian meal ; when lukewarm, stir in a 
half pint of flour, half a tea-cup of yeast, and a little salt. 
Fry them in just fat enough to prevent their from sticking 
to the pan. 

OYSTER CORN CAKES. 

Take one quart of green corn, rasped with a coarse 
grater, two tea-cupfuls of new milk, one tea-cupful of flour, 
mix the batter together, and add two eggs well beaten up ; 
season the batter with salt and pepper, and bake upon a 
griddle. These cakes afford as good an imitation of the 
taste of oysters as can be made with salsify. The corn 
should be such as is most suitable for roasting or boiling. 

FROSTING CAKES. 

Allow for the white of one egg, nine heaping tea-spoon- 
fuls of refined sugar, and onf of nice starch. The sugar 
and starch should be pounded, and sifted through a fine 
sieve. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, so that 
you can turn the plate upside down, without the eggs fall- 
ing from it — then stir in the sugar gradually with a wooden 
spoon — stir it ten or fifteen minutes without any cessation ; 
then add a tea-spoonful of lemon-juice, (vinegar will icm- 
swer, but it is not so^nice) — put in sufficient rose-water to 
flavor it. Lay the frosting on the cake with a knife, soon 
after it is taken from the oven — smooth it over, and let it 
remain in a cool place till hard. To frost a common size 
loaf of cake, allow the white of one egg, and half another. 

DOUGH-NUTS. 

A pound and a half of flour, three eggs, half a spoonful 
of pearlash, two ounces of butter, six ounces of sugar, 
one cup of milk. Spice to taste, and fry in lard. 



24 



TEA, COFFEE, &c. 

TEA. 

Scald the teapot with boiling water ; then put in the tea. 
Pour onthe water. It must be boiling hot, and let the tea 
steep about ten minutes. 

DELICIOUS COFFEE. 

Grind the coffee just before making. Allow about two 
table-spoonfuls for each person. Put it in a basin and 
into it an egg, yolk, white, shell, and all. Mix it up with 
the. spoon to the consistence of mortar, put warm, not boil- 
ing water in the coffee-pot ; let it boil up and break three 
times ; then stand a few minutes, and it will be as clear as 
Emiber, and the egg will give it a rich taste. 

COCOA SHELLS. 

Let the shells be soaked over night, then boil them in 
the same water in the morning. They are considerably 
nutricious, and allowed to be healthy, and are cheap. 

CHOCOLATE. 

To each square of chocolate, scraped off fine, and put 
in the pot, allow a pint (less i^you want it strong) of water. 
Stir it while boiling, and let it be uncovered. Let it boil 
about fifteen minutes, or half an hour, then pour in your 
cream or rich milk, and let it boil up. Nutmeg grated over 
a cup of chocolate improves the flavor. 

SUBSTITUTES FOR TEA. 

The fine green leaves of the red rasberry, gathered in a 
fair day, and cured in an open, airy room, are not inferior 
to the ordinary teas of China, and far more healthy. They 
should be gathered in the months of September and Octo- 
ber. Another, The first young leaves of the common cur- 
rant bush, gathered as soon as they put out, and dried on 
tin, can hardly be distinguished from green tea. 



25 
PICKLES AND CATCHUPS. 

Kettles of block tin or lined with porcelain are the best 
for pickling. Iron discolors the acid, and the verdigris 
produced by the vinegar on brass, copper, or bell metal, 
is extremely poisonous. If, after keeping the pickles any 
time, you discern any symptoms of their not keeping well, 
boil them over again with fresh vinegar and spice. The 
jars in which pickles are kept should always be full enough 
of vinegar to cover the pickles. Vinegar for piekl(^^ 
should only boil five or six minutes, 

CUCUMBERS, 

Gather those that are small and green, and of a quick: 
growth. Turn boiling w^ater on them as soon as picked- 
Let them remain in it four or five hours, then put them ins 
cold vinegar, with alum and salt, in the proportion of a; 
table-spoonful of the former and a teaf-cupful of the latter,, 
to every gallon of vinegar. When you have done collect- 
ing the cucumbers for pickling, turn the vinegar from the^ 
cucumbers, scald and skim it till clear, then put in the* 
pickles, let then scald without boiling, for a few minutes v. 
then turn them while hot into the vessel you intend to keep* 
them in. .Another method of pickling cucumbers, which iss 
good, is to put them in salt and water, as you pick them, 
changing the salt and water once in three or four days., 
when you have done collecting your cucumbers for peeling,, 
take them out of the salt and water, turn on scalding hot: 
vinegar, with alum and salt in it. 

TO PICKLE VEGETABLES. 

Soak them for about one day in brine, then drain them,, 
put them into bottles, and pour on them boiling vinegar,, 
until quite covered. Cork immediately. 

TOMATO CATCHUP. . V 

Sprinkle upon half a peck of tomatoes, eight table-spoon- 
fuls of salt, let them remain a day or two, then boil thenii 
until the skins will separate easily ; pour them, into a cul-» 
lender or coarse sieve, and press them through, leaving the* 
skins behind. Add eight table-spoonfuls of black pepper,, 
one spoonful of allspice, sixteen red peppers, six spoonfuls 
B 



26 

of mustard, the whole ground fine, and one pint of good 
vinegar. Simmer the whole together until it has wasted 
one third. Bottle tight. A portion intended to be kept 
long, may be boiled down to one third, the corks sealed ; 
it will be much richer, and will keep for years. 

WALNUT CATCHUP. 

Green walnut-shell juice, six quarts ; salt, from two to 

three pounds ; let it be simmered in an iron boiler as long 

as any scum arises ; then bruise a quarter of a pound of gin- 

.ger, a quarter of a pound of allspice, two ounces of long 

] pepper, two ounces of cloves, with the above ingredients 5 

{let it slowly boil for half an hour. When boiled^ let an equal 

(quantity of spice go into each bottle ; when corked, let the 

f bottle be filled quite up ; cork them tight, seal them over, 

rand put them into a cool and dry place for one year before 

tihey are used. 

MUSHROOM CATCHUP. 

Take the full gro\^ flaps of mushrooms, wipe themclean^ 
•J^jrush them with your hands, throw a handful of salt with 
♦•every peck of mushrooms, and let them stand all night ^ then 
pput them into stewpans, and set them in a quick oven for 
rtwelve hours ; strain them through a hair sieve and press 
♦rout all the juice. To every gallon of liquor put of cloves^ 
.Jamaica and black pepper, and of ginger, one ounce each, 
L-and half a pound of common salt. Set it on a slow fire and 
[let it boil until half the liquor is wasted, then put it into a 
«^.clean china vessel, and when cold bottle it. 

OYSTER CATCHUP. 

Oysters one quart (with their juice.) Press them through 
«a sieve, then add white wine one pint,^ salt one ounce, spice 
r to flavor. Boil for fifteen minutes, strain and bottle. 



PRESERVES. 

Brass and metal kettles should never be used in the prep- 

.-aration of preserves. Iron ware lined with porcelain, or 

tijn, is much preferable, and not subject to the verdigris^ 

-which acids produce on th« others. It is bad economy to 

use too little sugar in the preservation of fruit. When they 



I 



27 

once begin to spoil they can never be rendered eatable. 
Jellies without sufficient sugar will not congeal. Preserves 
to look clear and handsome should be made with loaf sugar. 
Small jars are preferable to large ones in putting away pre- 
serves, as frequent exposure to the air is apt to spoil 
the fruit. After pouring the preserves into jars, cut out 
several round pieces of paper, exactly made to fit the mouth 
of the jar, and after laying one or two of them over the fruit, 
pour upon it a tea-spoonful of good brandy, then cover the 
jar closely with bladder skin or some paper, (the former is 
preferable,) and tie it down in a manner which will entire- 
ly exclude the air. If the preserves candy after being kept 
a short time, the jar in v/hich they are held should be 
placed in a kettle of water, which may be permitted to boil 
from half to three quarters of an hour. 

TO PRESERVE QUINCES. 

Quinces if very ripe, archest preserved in the following 
manner. Pare and cut them in slices, an inch thick — take 
out the cores carefully, so as to have the slices in the form 
of a ring. Allow a pound of nice white sugar for each pound 
of the fruit — dissolve it in cold water, having a quart of the 
latter to a pound of sugar, then put in the sliced quinces, 
and let them soak in it ten or twelve hours. Put them in a 
preserving kettle, and put it on a moderate fire — cover them 
over, and let the quinces boil gently — there should be more 
than enough syrup to cover the quinces. When a broom 
splinter will go through them easily, take them from the fire, 
and turn them out. In the course of a week, turn the syrup 
from them, and boil it down, so that there will be just enough 
to cover the fruit. 

TO PRESERVE PEACHES, PLUMS, &C. 

September is the best month for peaches, as they are then 
harder and larger. Weigh the peaches, put them into a 
preserving pan full of cold water with a slice or two of lem- 
on ; set them on a slow fire, have ready a sieve and a nap- 
kin, and be careful not to do them too much. 

Some of the peaches will be ready sooner than others ; 
when they begin to be soft they are done enough ; take them 
out as they become soft and drain them on a sieve, and let 
them stand until cold ; then make a syrup, to every pound 



26 

of peaches allowing a pound of sugar — use some of the wa- 
ter in which the peaches were boiled for the syrup. Crack 
the pits of half a dozen peaches, throw them into hot water 
and remove their skins, then boil them with the syrup you 
are making. Put the peaches into jars and glasses, and 
pour the syrup over them. 

Cut several round pieces of paper, dip them in brandy, 
lay them over the preserves, and tie up the jars. 

Apricots, Nectarines and Plums, may be preserved in the 
same manner. 

This way of preserving peaches is much preferable to cut- 
ting them up and them preserving them. The fruit should 
not be not be permitted to boil until it becomes shrivelled. 

RASPBERRY SYRUP. 

To every quart of fruit add one pound of sugar, and let 
it stand over night. In the morning boil and skim it for 
half an hour ; then strain it through a flannel bag and pour 
into bottles, which ought to be carefully corked and sealed. 
To each bottle add (if you have not signed the pledge) a trifle 
of brandy, if the weather is so warm as to endanger its 
keeping. 

RASPBERRY JAM, 

To one pound of fri]it put one pound of sugar ; bruise 
them together in your preserving pan with a spoon, and let 
them simmer gently for an hour. When cold, put them in- 
to glass jars, and lay over them a bit of paper saturated 
with brandy. Tie them up so as to exclude the air. 

TOMATO FIGS. 

Take six pounds of sugar to one peck (or 16 lbs.) of fruit* 
Scald and remove the skin of the fruit in the usual way. 
Cook them over a fire, their own juice being sufficient 
without the addition of water, until the sugar penetrates and 
they are clarified. They are then taken out, spread on 
dishes, flattened and dried in the sun. A small quantity of 
the syrup should be occasionally sprinkled over them whilst 
drying ; after which, pack them down in boxes treating each 
layer with powdered sugar. The syrup is afterwards con- 
centrated and bottled for use. They keep well from year 
to year, and retain surprisingly their flavor, which is near- 
ly that of the best quality of fresh figs. The pear-shaped 



.^ 



29 

or single tomatoes answer the purpose best. Ordinary 
brown sugar may be used, a large portion of which is retain- 
ed in the syrup. 

RED COLORING FOR JELLY, BLANCMANGE, &C. 

Calves-foot jelly may be colored a beautiful crimson-red, 
by tying up some chips of alkanet-root in a thin muslin 
bag, and boiling it with the other ingredients. Alkanet is 
to be bought at any of the druggists, the cost is very 
trifling, and it has no peculiar taste, and no unwholesome 
properties. Before using it, pick it clean, and wash the 
chips from dust or powder. The more alkanet used the 
deeper will be the color. Let it remain in the strainer 
while the jelly is dripping. 

To color blancmange of a fine red, boil a very thin bag 
of alkanet in the milk or cream. 

Lamp oil for illuminations, ball-rooms, 8cc., will imbibe 
a beautiful red color, by soaking in it a muslin bag of al- 
kanet chips. 

SCOTCH MARMALADE. 

Take a bowl or dish of strained honey, and before you 
send it to table, mix with it a sufficiency of orange-juice 
(passed through a strainer) to give to it a fine flavor of 
oranges. Mix the honey and orange-juice well together. 
It will be found delicious. 

HONEY BUTTER. 

Good butter, eight pounds, and one pound of clarified 
honey. Beat vvell together. A delicacy for children or 
sick persons. It generally proves mildly laxative. • 

APPLE BUTTER. 

Boil down one barrel of new cider to half a barrel. 
Have ready a bushel and a halfof sw^eet apples, pared, 
quartered, and the cores removed ; put these to the cider 
and let the boiling be continued, stirring the whole con- 
stantly that it may not adhere to the sides of the vessels 
and burn. When the apples have amalgamated with the 
cider, and the mass become as thick as hasty-pudding, put 
in powdered allspice. It is now done. It will keep sweet 
for many years, and is a capital article for the table. 



30 

COOKING FOR THE SICK, &c. 

ARROW-ROOT. 

A tumbler-ful of this may be prepared in a few minutes. 
Put a tea-spoonful of powdered arrow-root into a bowl, 
moisten it with a table-spoonful of cold water, and stir it 
till free from grains ; then pour on boiling water, stirring 
it all the time, till it changes from a thick to a transparent 
substance ; a little lemon-juice and sugar makes this a 
delicious draught of thickened lemonade. Arrow-root 
prepared with milk instead of water is more substantial 
food, and may be seasoned with salt. It may be made as 
thick as blancmange, and eaten cold with cream and sugar. 

CALVES-FOOT BLANCMANGE. 

Put a set of calves feet, nicely cleaned and washed, into 
four quarts of water, and reduce it by boiling to one quart; 
strain it and set it by to cool. When cold, scrape off all 
the fat, cut it out of the bowl, avoiding the settlings at the 
bottom, and put it to a quart of new milk, with sugar to 
taste, and boil it a few minutes. If flavored with cinnamon 
or lemon-peel, do it before boiling ; if with rose-water, do 
it after. Boil ten minutes and strain it through a fine sieve, 
and stir it till it cools. An excellent dish for the sick or 
well. 

BEEF TEA. 

Take a piece of lean but juicy beef, wash it nicely and 
cut it up into pieces about an inch square, put these into 
a wide-mouthed bottle, and cork it up closely ; then set 
the bottle into a pan of water, and boil it for an hour, or 
more if you have time. In this may you will get the pure 
juice of the meat, undiluted by any water, and a smaller 
quantity will answer the purpose of nourishment. 

CHICKEN JELLY. 

A very young chicken will not yield any quantity of jelly 
— a full grown one is the best, but even an old fowl will 
do very well when none other can be obtained. 

Break the bones of a full-grown chicken and cut the 
fowl into pieces. Put it into a clean pan and fill it with 
water. After boiling the chicken gently for four hours or 



31 

more, strain it through a jelly bag. Add a little salt but 
no other seasoning. When the liquid is cold it should be a 
clear jelly. They may be boiled again and yield more jelly. 

PEARL SAGO. 

When a sick person is tired of slops, pearl sago boiled 
in water till it cools to a jelly, may be used ; it may be 
eaten with powdered loaf sugar and a little cream. 

EGOS. 

Weak persons may take eggs in the following manner : 
Beat an egg very fine, add some sugar and nutmeg, pour 
upon it a gill of boiling water, and drink it immediately. 

MINT, BALM, AND OTHER TEAS. 

Put either the fresh or the dried plants into boiling water 
in a covered vessel, which should be placed near the fire 
for an hour. The young shoots both of balm and of mint 
are to be preferred, on account of their strong aromatic 
qualities. These infusions may be drunk freely in feverish 
and in various other complaints, in which diluents are re- 
commended. Mint tea, made with the fresh leaves, is 
useful in allaying nausea and vomiting. 

CASTOR OIL MADE PALATABLE. 

Boil castor oil with twice its quantity of milk, and sweeten 
it with sugar. Let it cool. Children will not refuse it. 

TO MAKE LEECHES TAKE HOLD. 

To make leeches take hold on the spot required, take a 
piece of white paper, cut small holes in it where you wish 
them to bite, lay this over the place, and put the leeches 
on the paper. Not liking the paper, they will take hold of 
the skin where it appears through the hold. 

SORE GUMS. 

Brandy and salt will remove soreness of the gums. 

CURE FOR A COUGH OR COLD. 

An intelligent farmer has observed, that the best remedy 
he ever tried in his family for a cough or cold, was a decoc- 
tion of the leaves of the pine-tree, sweetened with loaf 



u 

sugar, to be freely drank warm whren going to bed at night, 
and cold throughout the day. 

SIMPLE CURE FOR WORMS. 

One spoonful of syrup of peach-blossoms, taken in a 
glass of the water from the steeped leaves, is a most safe 
and certain remedy for worms in children. 

CURE FOR TOOTHACHE. 

To one tea-spoonful of kreosote put half a tea-spoonful 
of alcohol. Soak a bit of cotton well with this, and put it 
into the tooth. No harm will arise from the use of kreo- 
sote, if care is taken not to swallow the spittle. This has 
been tried by the author, and found a permanent cure. 

Anothe7\ Mix alum and common salt in equal quanti- 
ties, finely pulverized. Then wet some cotton, large 
enough to fill the cavity, which cover with salt and alum, 
and apply it. 

TO ERADICATE CORNS. 

Bathe the corn in warm water, with a sponge, on going 
to bed, until it has become tender ; then wet the corn with 
a bit of slackened potash, or some caustic of potash, or 
with a very strong ley. Repeat two or three times. 



To Cleanse Vials^ S^c, 

Bottles and vials that have had medicine in them may be 
cleansed by filling each one with ashes, and immersing 
them in a pot of cold water, then heating the water grad- 
ually till it boils. Afterwards rinse them in soap suds, and 
then in clean water. 

To Make Court Plaster. 

Take thin silk dipped into dissolved isinglass and dry it, 
then dip it in the white of an egg several times and dry it. 

Three Rules for Preserving Good Health. 

1st. Keep the feet warm. 2d. The head cool. 3d. The 
bowels sufficiently open, by your diet and not medicine. 



A GREAT NUMBER OF 

SECRETS MADE KNOWN, 

BEING A VERY CHOICE COLLECTION OF VALUABLE 

RECEIPTS AND PATENTS. 

HAIR, HAIR DYES, &c. 

Beauty and permanence of the hair are best preserved by regu- 
larly washing it. To prevent its becoming dirty and greasy it ought 
to be washed frequently with soap and warm water. The prejudice 
against wetting the hair is absurd. Perfect cleanliness can be ob- 
tained no other way. The frequent use also of the comb and brush 
is of the utmost importance. In washing the hair^ the head or scalp 
must receive its portion of the water, to loosen and remove the dirt, 
this method is much more effectual than by the use of the comb to 
the dry hair, as the comb often wouuds the skin, and is often the oc- 
casion of the scales. A stiff brush and plenty of warm water is the 
best, with a fine comb to assist in removing the loosened dandruff. 
The modern practice of champooning is nothing more than the method 
just described, some using alcoholic substances instead of water; 
when the liquor is applied, they brush the skin of the head stiflBy for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, until all the dirt is loosened ,• it is then 
brushed and combed out, leaving the skin perfectly clean and white. 
It is a luxury known only to those who practise it. 

The hair of children should be cut short until they are eight or 
nine years old, as the cooler the head can be kept, the less danger 
there is of many maladies peculiar to that part of the body, especially 
water on the brain. Nothing is more common than to see a luxu- 
riant head of hair accompanied in children by paleness of complexion, 
weak eyes, and frequent complaints of headache. The trouble, also, 
of keeping long hair clean, and in order, on children, is the cause of 
much trouble, and often all humor. 

Loss of Hair, 

Hair is preserved by onion-juice and brandy, rubbed in well. Or, 
take one part cantharides powder, to eight of alcohol, carefully mixed; 
and well rubbed into the roots of the hair. 



"— i n iii r r 



34 

Hair Dye. 

Nitric acid, one part ; nitrate of silver, ten parts ; sap green, nine 
parts ; powdered gum arabic, two parts ; water, three hundred parts ; 
essence musii, one or two drops to each bottle. Mix. In all cases, 
first free the hair from grease, by soap and water. All hair dyes 
must be applied by means of moistening a comb with them, and pass- 
ing it through the hair, observing not to touch the skin with the dye. 

Powder for Removing Superfluous Hair, 

Powdered quicklime, two parts ; sulphuret of arsenic, one part ; 
starch, one part. Mix in fine powder, and keep in a close vessel. 

French Rose Pomatum. 

White wax, one pound ; lard, three pounds^; suet, three pounds. 
Melt, and when partly cold, stir in rose water, one pint ; ottar of rose 
forty drops. The appearance of this pomatum is much improved by 
giving it a pink color. 



TO REMOVE INK AND GREASE SPOTS, &c. 

To Remove Grease Spots. 

Take the yolk of an egg, entirely free from the white, and with a 
soft brush apply it on the spot until the grease appears removed or 
dissolved. Wash off" the egg with moderately warm water, and then 
rinse ofi" the whole with clean cold water. 

Another. Lay a quantity of Magnesia or French chalk on the 
grease spot, and apply to it a hot flatiron j repeat till it is all out. 

To take out Ink, Fruit Spots, and Iron Moulds. 

On cotton goods and colored silks, spots of common or durable ink 
can be removed by saturating them with lemon-juice, and rubbing on 
salt, then putting them where the sun will shme on them hot, for 
several hours. As fast as it dries, put on more lemon-juice and salt. 
When lemon-juice cannot be obtained, vinegar will do. Iron moulds 
may be removed in the same way. Mildew and most other stains 
can be removed by rubbing on soft soap and salt, and placing it 
where the sun will shine on it hot. Where soap and salt will not 
remove stains, lemon-juice and salt will generally answer. The above 
things will only remove stains in warm weather, when the sun is hot. 

For fruit stains, let the spotted part imbibe a little water, without 
dipping, and hold the part at a proper distance over a bit of lighted 
brimstone. The sulphurous gas which is discharged, soon causes the 
spot to disappear. 

Another. Many kinds of stains may be removed by simply dipping 
in sour milk, drying in hot sun, and then washing in cold Avater. 

Volatile Soap for Removing Paint, Grease Spots, <5'c. 

Four table-spoonfuls of spirits of hartshorn, four table-spoonfuls 
of alcohol, and a table-spoonful of salt. Shake the whole well to- 
gether in a bottle, and apply with a sponge or brush. 



35 

To take out Mildew from Linen. 

Mix some soft soap with powdered starch, half as much salt, and 
the juice of a lemon ; apply on both sides with a brush, and lay it on 
the grass day and night, till the stain comes out. 

To take Stains out of Mahogany, 

Spirits of salts, six parts ; salts of lemon, 1 part. Mix, then drop 
a little on the stains, and rub them until they disappear. 

To Restore Colon's taken out by Acids. 

Sal-volatile or hartshorn, will restore colors taken out by acids. It 
will not harm the garment. 



CLEANSma, &c. 

To Cleanse Silks ^ Woollens, and Cottons. 

Grate raw potatoes to a fine pulp in clean water, and pass the 
liquid matter through a coarse sieve into another vessel of water ; 
let the mixture stand still till the fine white particles of the potatoes 
settle to Che bottom; then pour oflT the liquor from the sediment, and 
preserve it for use. The article to be cleaned should be laid upon a 
cloth on a table ; dip a clean sponge into the liquor, and apply it to 
the article to be cleaned, till the dirt is perfectly separated, then rinse 
it in clean water several times. Two middle size. potatoes will be suf- 
ficient for a pint of water. Should there be any grease spots on the 
articles, they should be pseviously extracted. 

To Cleanse Old Feathers. 

Empty the feathers into a hogshead or barrels, and pour warm 
soap suds or limewater upon them. Stir them well, and let them re- 
main for twenty-four hours. Pour off' the liquor and rinse them in 
fresh water. Now take them out, and press out the water, then 
spread them upon the floor of an airy room, and stir occasionally till 
dry. 

To Bleach Wool, Silks, Straw Bonnets, S^c. 

Put a pan of lighted charcoal into a barrel, strew an ounce or two 
of crushed brimstone upon them. Suspend the article in the top of 
the barrel, and cover it over very closely. 

To Clean White Kid and other Gloves. 

White leather gloves may be cleaned very well, by putting on one 
at a time, and going over them thoroughly with a shavmg-brush and 
lather. Then wipe them off* with a clean sponge, and dry them on 
the hands by the fire or in the sun. 

To Wash Woollen Pantaloons. 

Colored pantaloons look very well washed with beefs gall and fair 
warm water, and pressed on the wrong side while. damp. 



8@ 

DYEING. 

To Dye Scarlet. 

This operation consists first, of a coloring bath, and then a finishing 
dye. For the bath, take for every pound of cloth or wool, silk, or 
other stuff', fourteen drachms of cream of tartar, (put into a conven- 
ient quantity of water.) When the bath is boiling, and the tartar 
dissolved, and fourteen drachms of solution of tin, {Tin Mordant,) 
and let the whole boil together for a few minutes. Now introduce the 
cloth, and boil it two hours ; then take it out and let it drain and cool. 
Now prepare another solution for a finishing dye, as follows. To 
every pound of stuff", take two drachms of cream of tartar, to which 
add the requisite quantity of water. When it begins to boil add one 
ounce of cochineal, reduced to a fine powder, stir the mixture well 
with a rod of any white wood, and let it boil for a few minutes. Then 
while stirring, it, pour in by degrees one ounce of solution tin, {Tin 
Mordant). Dye quickly. The color will be a beautiful scarlet. 

N. B. The Tin Mordant, is prepared as follows. Pour into a 
glass globe, with a long neck, three parts of nitric acid at 30 deg., 
and one part of muriatic acid at 17 deg. ; shake the globe gently, 
avoiding the corrosive vapors, and put a loose stopper into its mouth. 
Into this nitro-muriatic acid throw one eight of its weight of pure tin, 
in small bits at a time. When the solution is complete and settled, 
it may be poured off" and kept bottled for use, using ground or loose 
stoppers. 

To color Green. 

For every pound of yarn or cloth add two and a half ounces of 
alum and one pound of fustic. Steep to get the strength, but not boilj 
soak the cloth until it acquires a good yellow color 5 then throw out 
chips, and slowly add indigo in proportion to the shade of green you 
wish to obtain. 

Rose Color. 

Steep balm blossoms in water in earthen or tin. Add a small 
quantity of alum to set the color. 

Straw Color. 
Steep saflfron blossoms in water, in earthen or tin. Set with alum. 

JSTanJcin Color. 

The simplest way is to take a pailful of lye, to which put a piece 
of copperas half as big as a hen's egg -, boil in a copper or tin kettle. 

Slate Color. 

Tea grounds, boiled in iron vessels, set with copperas, makes a 
good slate color. To produce a light slate color, boil white maple 
bark in clear water, with a little alum — the bark should be boiled in 
a brass utensil- The goods should be boiled in it, and then hung 
where they Avill drain and dry. 



3? 

Black Color. 

Boil logwood in cider or vinegar, in iron vessels. One pound of 
logwood to one pailful of water ; add a little copperas to set the color* 

To Set Colors Fast. 

px's gall will set the colors of any goods, whether silk, woollen, 
or cotton. Dissolve one table-spoonful of gall in a gallon of warm 
water, and wash the article in it, without soap. The gall is a cheap 
article, and a bottle of it should be kept by every family. 



INKS. 

To Make Black Ink. 

Take two gallons of soft water, a pound and a half of bruised 
galls, keep near a gentle heat for two or three weeks, stirring often j 
then add half a pound each of copperas, logwood chips, and gum ara- 
ble, some loaf sugar, lemon-peel, and a gill of brandy. 

Blue Ink, 

In half a pint of water dissolve half an ounce of gum arable. 
Grind some Prussian blue very fine, and add it in proportion as you 
wish depth of color . 

Green Ink. 

Cream of tartar, one part ; verdigris, two parts ; water, eight parts * 
Boil until reduced to a proper color. 

Red Ink, 

Grind very fiine, Vermilion three parts, and carmine one part j dis- 
solve in the gum water as for blue ink. 

Sympathetic Inks. 

";vmpathetic inks are such as do not appear after they are written 

' '^ut which may be made to appear at pleasure, by certain means 

V that purpose. They are often used in times of war, or where 

i^ecy is desired. The following are some of them. The arti- 

viay be obtained of any druggist. 

Vih. starch water, and when you Wish the writing to appear, 

Vrk with a clean sponge or feather dipped in a weak solu- 

X vith a weak solution of sulphate of iron, let it dry, and 
f sible. By dipping a feather in tincture of galls and 
V't feather over the letters, the writing will be restored 

'. th the last-named solution, and when dry wash the 
V ne way with prussiate of potash, and they will be 
\ iful blue. 

V 



) remove Oilinessfrom Ink. 



and vinegar to the ink. 



\ 



38 

EXTRACTS. 

To Extract Oil from Flowers. 

Put the leaves of any kind of flowers into an earthen glazed pot. 
Sprinkle salt with this ; cover it upj and let it remain in the cellar for 
forty days ; at the end. of this time empty the whole into a cloth and 
strain it by pressure into a pan. Then bottle the extract, and let it 
remain in the open air exposed to the sun for four or five weeks to 
purify. One drop wdll scent a quart of water. 

Essences. 

An ounce of oil to one pint of alcohol is a fair proportion. Shake 
Well together. Color. 

Oil of Roses. 

Olive oil, one pound ; ottar of roses fifty drops ; oil of rosemary, 
twenty ^five drops. Mix. 

Essence of Roses. 
Ottar of roses, seven drachms ; spirit, one gallon. Mix. 

Colo me Water. 

One pint of alcohol, sixty drops of lavender, sixty drops of berga- 
mot, sixty drops of essence lemon, sixty drops of orange-water. To 
be corked tight and well shaken. 



DOfflESTIO WIKTES, &:c. 

Currant Wine. 

Boil four gallons of water, and stir into it eight pounds of honey ; 
when thoroughly dissolved, take it off' the fire and stir it about well 
to raise the scum, which take clean off", and let the liquor cool. When 
thus prepared, press out the same quanty of the juice of red currar 
moderately ripe, which being well strained mix with the water 
honey ; then put them into an open cask or large earthen ^■ 
and let them stand to ferment for twenty-four hours ; then * 
gallon of liquor add two pounds of white sugar, stir themwe^' 
the scum, and when well settled, take it off, and add half 
of cream of tartar, with the whites of two or three eggs, 
When the wine is well settled and clean, draw it off i 
vessel, or bottle it up. The wine will be made much '- 
table-spoonful of brandy is put into the bottle before fill' 
it in a oool place. 

If white currants are used, a wine after the sa,me nr 
made, that will equal in pleasantness and strength any 
white wine. 

Blackberry Wine. 

Having procured berries that are fully ripe, pu' 
vessel of wood or stone, with a cock in it, and " 
much boiling water as will cover them. As s^ 



39 

/ 

permit the hand to be put into the vessel, bruise them well till all the 
Derries are broken. Then let them Stand covered till the berries begin 
to rise towards the top, which they usally do in three or four days. 
Then draw off the clear into another vessel, and add to every ten 
quarts of this liquor a pound of sugar. Stir it well, and let it stand 
to Avork a week or ten days, in another vessel like the first. Then 
draw it off at the cock through a straining-bag into a large vessel. 
Take four ounces of isinglass, and lay it to steep four hours in a pint 
of white wine. The next morning, boil it upon a slow fire till it is all 
dissolved. Then take a gallon of blackberry juice, put in the dis» 
solved isinglass, give them a boil together, and pour all into the ves* 
sel. Let it stand a few days to purge and settle^ then draw it ofi'^ 
and keep it in a cool place. 

Raspberry Wine. 

Gather the raspberries when ripe, husk them, and bruise tbem j 
then strain them through a bag into jars or other vessels. Boil the 
juice, and to every gallon put a pound and a half of white sugar. 
Now add the whites of eggs, and let the whole boil for fifteen minutes; 
skimming it as the froth rises. When cool and settled, pour the li- 
quor into a cask, adding yeast to make it ferment. When this has 
taken place add a pint of white wine, or half a pint proof spirit to 
each gallon contained in the cask, and hang a bag in it containing 
an ounce of bruised mace. In three months^ if kept in a cool place, 
it will be a very excellent and delicious wine. 

Grape Wine. 

To every gallon of ripe grapes put a gallon of water, bruise the 
grapes and let them stand a week without stirring, and draw the li- 
quor ofi" fine ; to every gallon of wine put three pounds of sugar ; 
put the whole into a vessel, but do not stop it till has done hissing, 
then stop it close, and in six months it will be fit for bottling. A bet- 
ter wine, though smaller in quantity, will be made by leaving out the 
water, and diminishing the quantity of sugar. 

Elderberry Wine, 

Cold soft water, ten gallons ; raisins, twenty-five pounds ; elder- 
berries, three gallons ; red tartar dissolved, four ounces. Boil and 
ferment, then add spirit, one gallon ; cloves, mace, and cassia, each 
a quarter ounce ; ginger, one and a half ounce ; dry lemon-peel, one 
and a half ounce 5 dry orange-peel, one and a half ounce. Good for 
the summer complaint. 

Blackberry Diarrhoea Syrup. 

To two quarts of blackberries, add one pound of loaf sugar, half 
an ounce of nutmegs, half an ounce of ground cinnamon, half an 
ounce of ground cloves, quarter an ounce ground alspice. Boil the 
whole together, and when cold add a pint of fourth proof brandy. 
From a tea-spoonful to a wine-glassful, according to the age of the pa- 
tient, till relieved. In 1832 this was very successful in cases of the 
cholera. 



American, or Cider Wine. 

Put three or four pounds of common honey into a large tub, into 
which empty a barrel of cider, fresh from the press, stir it well, and 
let it stand for one night ; then strain it, and add more honey until 
the liquor will bear the weight of an egg. Now put it into a bajrel, 
and after fermentation has begun^ fill up the cask every day for three 
or four days, that the froth may work out of the bunghole. When the 
fermentation has subsided, put the bung in loosely. At the end of 
five or six weeks the liquor should be drawn off into a tub, and the 
whites of eight eggs, well beaten up, with a pint of clean sand, put 
into it. To this add a gallon of cider spirit ; mix the whole together, 
and return it to the cask, which should be well cleaned and bunged 
light, and placed in a situation to be racked off when fine. In five or 
six months it may be drawn off into kegs or bottled up. It will be 
found equal to almost any foreign wine. 

Champaigne Cider, 

One barrel of good pale cider, three quarts spirit, honey or sugar 
six pounds. Mix and let them stand for a fortnight, then fine with 
one quart of skim milk. This will be very pale ; and a similar arti- 
cle, when bottled in champaigne bottles, and silvered and labelled, 
has been often sold for the genume champaigne. It appears very 
brisk if managed properly. 

Cherry Brandy, 

One gallon cherries to one gallon rum j let it stand about three 
weeks, and draw it off as wanted. 

Bottled Soda Water, 

Clear water, one gallon ; bicarbonate of soda, ten drachms. Fill 
the bottles with this 5 then add to each bottle tartaric acid twenty- 
eight grains. Cork, and wire down immediately. The cork should 
be previously fitted in readiness. 

Sarsaparilla Mead, 

One pound Spanish sarsaparilla, boil five hours, so as to strain off 
two gallons 5 add sixteen pounds of sugar and ten ounces of tartaric 
acid. One half wine-glassful of syrup to one half-pint tumbler of 
water, and one half tea-spoonful of soda powder, is a fair proportion 
for a drink* 

Lemon Syrup, 

Take one pound of Havanna sugar, boil it in water down to a 
quart, drop in the white of an egg, and strain it. Add one quarter of 
an ounce of tartaric acid; let it stand two days ; shake it often. A 
lemon-peel, boiled with the sugar, or four or five drops oil of lemon 
added when completed much improves the flavor. 

Hop Beer^ 

For half a barrel of beer, boil half a pound of hops in a pailful and 
a half of water, with a tea-cupful of ginger. When brewed^ put it 



41 

warm into a clean cask, with half a gallon molasses ; shake it 'well, 
and fill up the cask with water, leaving the bung open. Fill the cask 
when it works over. Before bottling, put a table-spoonful of molasses 
in each bottle. 

Spruce Beer, 

Allow an ounce of hops and half a table-spoonful of ginger to a 
gallon of water. When well boiled, strain it, and put in a pint of mo- 
lasses, and half an ounce of the essence of spruce ; when cool, add a 
tea-cupful of yeast, and put into a clean, tight cask, and let it ferment 
for a day or two, then bottle it for use. You can boil the sprigs of 
spruce fir instead of the essence. 

Imperial Ginger Pop. 

Take cream tartar, one pound ; ginger, one and a half ounce ; 
white sugar, seven pounds ; essence lemon, one drachm j water, six 
gallons ', yeast half a pint. Mix. Tie the corks down. 

To Mull Wine, 

Boil a pint of wine v/ith a table-spoonful of allspice ; beat up the 
yolk of an egg with a little sugar, and add it to the wine w^hile boiling. 
Pour it backwards and forwards till it looks fine. 



MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 

To keep away Bed-Bugs, 

Scald and saturate the holes and bedstead thoroughly with hot 
strong soap-suds, or water diluted with corrosive sublimate ; dip the 
cord also in the same liquor. Then, before putting up the bedstead, 
dip the feathered end of a quill into soft soap, or hard soap melted, or 
any kind of paint, and work it round in the cord-holes of the beams 
and elsev/here. This renders every part obnoxious to them, and they 
will not inhabit it. 

To Destroy Rats. 

Take corks, cut as thin as wafers, roasted or stewed in grease, 
and placed in their tracks.— Or, Take dried sponge, in small bits, fried 
or dipped in honey, with a little oil of rhodium. — Or, Take birdlime, 
laying it about in their haunts, and it will stick to their hair, and 
cause their departure.— Or, Spread pounded garlic where they fre- 
quent. Poisoning is very dangerous. 

To get rid of Red Ants, 

A small quantity of green sage, placed in the closet, will cause 
red aunts to disappear. The flour of sulphur, also, sprinkled round 
the places they frequent, will cause them to disappear. 

To Destroy Moths, 

When moths get into garments, the best thing to destroy them is 
to hang the garments in a closet, and make a strong smoke of tobacco 
B2 



42 

leaves under Ihem. In order to do it, have a pan of liv§ coals in the 
closet, and sprinkle on the tobacco leaves. 

To Prevent Flies injurimg Picture and Mirror Frames, 

Boil three or four leeks in a pint of water, and wash over the 
frames with a brush. Flies will not go near an article thus washed. 

To Prevent Horses being Teased by Flies, 

Boil three or four handfuls of walnut leaves in a gallon of water, 
and before the horse goes cut in the morning, bathe with it. 

Hard Soap, 

Dissolve twenty pounds of white potash in three pailfuls of water. 
Heat twenty pounds of strained grease, then mix it with the dissolved 
potash, and boil them together till the whole becomes a thick jelly, 
which is ascertained by taking a little of it to get cold. Take it from 
the fire, stir in cold water till it grows thin, then put to each pailful 
of soap, a pint of blown salt ; stir it well. The succeeding day, sep- 
arate it from the ley, and heat it over a slow fire. Let it boil a quar- 
ter of an hour, then take it from the fire. If you wish it a yellow 
color, put in a little palm oil, and turn it out into wooden vessels. 
"When cold, separate it again from the lye, and cut it in bars j let them 
remain in the sun several days to dry. 

Soft Soap. 

Ten pounds of potash mixed in ten gallons of warm water, over 
night , in the morning boil it, adding six pounds of grease j then put 
it in a barrel, adding fifteen gallons of warm water. 

Shaving Soap, 

Take four pounds white bar soap, one quart rain water, one half 
pint beefs gall, one gill spirits turpentine. Cut the soap into thin 
slices, and boil five minutes after the soap is dissolved, stir while boil* 
ing, color it with one half paper vermilion, scent with what you like, 
use the oil instead of essence. 

Another. — Common white soap, two pounds ; oil of almonds, two 
pounds ; common soda, one pound j rosewater, one pound. Melt, 
and perfume with ottar of roses. 

To make Candles, 

Take two pounds of alum, for* every ten pounds of tallow ; dissolve 
the alum in water before the tallow is put in, and then melt the tallow 
in the alum water, with frequent stirring, and it wiU clarify and 
harden the tallow so as to make a most beautiful article for either 
winter or summer use, almost as good as sperm. 

Sta7xh, 

Isinglass is a most delicate starch for muslins. When boiling 
common starch, sprinkle in a little fine salt j this prevents its sticking. 



43 

Flour Paste, 

Water, one quart 5 alum, three fourths of an ounce. Dissolve, 
and when cold, add flour to make it of the consistence of cream, then 
bring it to a boil, stirring it all the while. 

To Restore Sweetness to Tainted Butter, 

Cut or break the butter into very small pieces ; or, what is better, 
force it through a course wire sieve, so as to make it small as pos- 
sible. Then put it into a churn with a sufficient quantity of new 
milk to swim it, and churn it well ; then take it out and work it w^ell 
to free it from the milk, adding a little salt if necessary, and it will 
hardly be distinguished from entirely new butter. 

Another way. To every pound of rancid butter, add a pint of wa. 
ter, into which has been put from twelve to fifteen drops of chloride of 
lime. Mix till all the particles are in contact with the water ; after 
letting it stand an hour or tw^o, take it out and w^ash it in fresh water. 

To Clarify Coarse Sugar, 

Coarse sugar, twenty-live pounds ; water, six quarts ; white of 
eggs, three ; powdered charcoal, two pounds. Put them into a cold 
copper and mix well, then apply heat for a short time, and strain, 
through a bag, mixing a httle pulp of brown paper with the syrup 
before putting it into the filter • return the first runnings. Animal 
charcoal is the best to whiten syrups. 

To Clarify Honey. 

Honey, two gallons; one eg^ mixed with one quart of water; 
pour into a cold copper, mix well : then apply heat, and skim ; strain 
if necessary. The water may be evaporated if desired, only observing 
to use as little heat as possible. 

To Whiten Beeswax, 

Melt the yellow wax without boiling ; then take tin pans or any 
kind of plates, and dip the outside bottom into the wax, and take up 
a very thin coat of wax, the thinner the better; then take them off, 
and expose them upon the grass to the sun, air, and dews, until ihe}r 
are milk white, turning them often. 

To Preserve Eggs. 

Put a layer of salt in the bottom of a jar, and stick the eggs, point 
downwards, into the salt, and so on layer after layer. 

Another. One bushel of quicklime, two pounds salt, and half a 
pound cream tartar. Mix them together with as much water as wili 
allow an egg put into it to swim. 

To Gather and Preserve Herbs, 

Herbs should be gathered early in a morning, at the season when 
they are just beginning to flower. The dust should be washed or 
brushed off them, and they should be then dried by a gentle heat, as 
quick as possible. 



44 

To Preserve Seeds for Planting. 

Mix the seeds with clean sand, which should be occasionally 
slightly moistened, to prevent the seeds from drying, and put in a 
cool place. The seeds of stone fruit should not become much dried 
internally. Expose them sufficiently to evaporate the external atmos- 
phere, and pack as above. 

Transplanting Trees, 

The trees to be removed are selected, the situations chosen, and 
the holes dug, while the ground is yet open, in autumn. Then, just 
before the ground is frozen, dig: a trench at some distance around the 
tree to ce removed, gradually undermining it, and leaving all the mass 
of roots embeded in the ball of earth. The whole ball is then left to 
freeze pretty thoroughly, (generally till snow covers the ground,) 
when the ball of earth containing the tree is rolled upon a sled and 
transplanted to the hole previously prepared, where it is placed in its 
proper position ; and as soon as the weather becomes mild, the earth 
is properly filled in around the ball. On return of growth, the trees 
scarcely show any effects from removal. 

To hasten the Ripening of Wall Fruit, 

Paint the wall black, or into common lime-wash mix a sufficient 
quantity of lampblack to render the whole a black color, and wash. 

To Preserve Pump-Logs, 

Pump-logs; for conducting water, may be preserved for a long 
time under ground by surrounding them with ashes or lime, and the 
joints should be cemented with tar. 

To Clean Teeth, 

Honey mixed with pulverized charcoal, is an excellent remedy to 
cleanse the teeth and make them white. Limestone water is very 
good to be used by those having defective teeth, or an offensive breath. 

To Cleanse Foul Casks, 

Fill them with meal or bran and water, and let them stand till 
fermentation takes place ; it will entirely cleanse them without ex- 
pense, as the mixture is afterwards as good food for swine as before. 

To Prevent the Smohing of a Lamp, 
Soak the wick in very strong vinegar, and dry it well before you 
use it ; it will then burn both sweet and pleasant, and gives much 
satisfaction for the trifling trouble in preparing it. 

To Prevent the Formation of a Crust on Tea-Kettles, 

' Keep an oyster-shell in your tea-kettle, and it will prevent the for- 
mation of a crust on the inside of it, by attracting the stony particles 
to itself. 

To Purify Water, 

Put into a barrel of water, 'a table-spoonful of finely powdered 
alum J stir briskly. Let it settle. 



ii^saa 



45 



1 



To Detect the Presence of Plaster in Paper, 
Burn the paper in a close vessel, and mix the embers with vineger 
In a silver spoon ; if a gas is disengaged which blackens the spoon, 
the presence of plaster will be shown. This adulteration is fraudu- 
lently practised by some paper makers to increase its weight. 

To Test Alcohol 

To ascertain if the spirit of wine (alcohol) be sufficiently strong, 
pour some into a cup upon gunpowder, and then set fire to it. If the 
spirit be strong; after burning down to the gunpowder, it will inflame, 
but if two much water had been mixed Vv^ith it, that would not take 
place, as, after the spirit was consumed, there would still be water 
enough left to keep the gunpowder wet. 

Fine Peppermint Lozenges, 

Best po'vvdered white sugar, seven pounds ; pure starch, one pound; 
oil of peppermint to flavor. Mix wiih mucilage. 

Saffron Lozenges, 

Finely pow^dered hay safliron, one ounce ; finely powdered sugar, 
one pound j finely powdered starch, eight ounces. Mucilage to mix. 

German method to Prepare Quills, 

Suspend the quills in a copper, over water, sufficiently high to 
touch the nibs ; then close it steam-tight, and apply four hours hard 
boiling; next, withdraw and dry them, and in twenty-four hours cut 
the nibs and draw^ out the pith ; lastly, rub theiii with a piece of cloth, 
and expose them to a moderate h^at. The quills prepared in this w^ay 
are extremely hard and transparent, without being brittle. 

To Prepare Intestines for Sausages. 

Take Jhe intestmes, cut off' the extraneous fat and peritoneal mem- 
brane, turn them inside out, and w^ash them clean ; then soak them 
for twenty-four hours in clean w-ater, to which a little chloride of lime 
or potash has been added ; then tear off' a part of the mucous mem- 
brane to thin them, and wash them well in two or three pails of water. 

Dry Feet — Composition for Boots. 

Take one half pint of neats-foot oil, one ounce of beeswax, one 
ounce of turpentine, one ounce of tar, one half ounce of Burgundy 
pitch — these to be slowly melted together and well incorporated by 
stirring. Spread on the composition and allow it to dry ; repeat the 
application, till the leather is saturated. This composition is for the 
tippers only. 

For the soles, tar alone is the best application, to be put on while 
hot, the soles having been warmed by the fire. Apply the tar until 
the soles are completely saturated- This is believed to be the best 
receipt known for a composition to render leather noc only water-proof 
in the highest degree, but also for preserving it in a soft and pliable 
state, and causing U to wear much longer. 




/ .^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

Paste BlacJci 
Oil of vitrol, two parts ; sweet oil, one \ 
Zdquid Japan Bi 
Ivory-black, two ounces; brown sugar, 030 005 187 

oil, half a table-ppoonful. Mix tbem well, and then add gradually half a pi^t 
of small beer. 

Cheap White House Paint. 

Take skim-miik, tvyo quarts, eight ounces fresh slacked linae, srx ounces 
Jinseed oil, two ounces white Burgundy pitchy three pounds Spanish white. 
Slack the lime in water, expose it to the air, and mix in about one fourth of 
the milk; the oil in which the pitch is previously dissolved, to be added a lit- 
tle at a time; then the rest of the milk, and afterwards the Spanish white. 
This quantity is sufficient for thirty square yards, two coals, and costs but 
a few cents. If other colors are wa»ted, use instead of Spanish white, other 
coloring matter. 

Fire and Water Proof Cement, 

To half a pint of milk, put an equfil quantity of vinegar to curdle it; then 
separate the curd from the whey, and mix the whey with four or five eggs, 
beating the whole well together. When welt mixed, add a little qwick lime 
through a sieve, until it has acquired the consistence of thick paste. With 
this, broken vessels may be united. It resists the action of fire and water. 

Dfirable Whitewash, 

Before putting the lime, which should be unslacked, into the water, satur- 
jite the water with a little salt. This will make a wash tiiat cannot be nibbed 
off, nor crack, and is very lasting. 

Patent Composition for Covering Buildings.. 

Take the hardest and purest limestone, (white marble is to be preferred) 
free from sand, clay, or other matter, calcine it in a reverberatory furnace, 
pulverize and pass it through a sieve. One part, by weight, is to be mixed 
with two parts of clay well baked and similarly pulverized, conducting the 
whole operation with great care. This forms the first powder. The second 
is to be made of one part of calcined and pulverized gypsEim, to which is 
added two parts of clay, baked and pulverized. These two powders are to be 
combined, and intimately incorJDoraled, so as to form a perfect mixture. 
When it is to be used, mix it with about a fourth part of its weight of water, 
added gradually, stirring the mass the whole time, until it forms a thick paste, 
in which state it is to be placed like mortar upon the desiied surface. It 
becomes in time as hard as stone, allows no moisture to penetrate, and is 
not cracked by heat. If well prepared, it will last any length of time. Wheo 
in its soft state, it may be colored of any desired tint. 

Cement for Iron Ware, 

Beat the whites of eggs to a froth, then stir into xhem enough quicklime to 
make a consistent paste, and then add iron file dust to the whole. The 
quicklime should be reduced to a fine powder before mixing it with the eggs. 
Fill the cracks in iron ware with this cement, and let them remain several 
weeks before using them. 

To Preserve Iron from Rctst. 

Heat the iron to redness, just perceptible in the dark, then cool it in tallow. 

To Mend Cracks in Stoves, 
Take equal parts of wood-ashes and common salt, and mix them with wa- 
ter, to the consistence of mortar; with this fill the cracks. 



Conservation Resources 
Lig-Free® Type I 
Ph 8.5, Buffered 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



030 005 187 



h 



